Three's a Crowd
by Wohitzi
Summary: Spoilers up to and including 'The Boiling Rock'. An unexpected visiter drops in on the gaang, testing Zuko's loyalty and Katara's trust.


Katara sat in front of a large metal pot, stirring its delicious smelling contents with her bending. It had been a long day of training and arguing over the group's plans for the next invasion, and she just wanted to finish making supper and go to sleep.

"That smells good."

Immediately, a frown found its way to her face. Glaring, she said, "What do you want, Zuko?"

He seemed startled, taking a moment to think of a response. Hesitantly, he sat down on the other side of the pot. "Am I not allowed to appreciate good cooking?"

She said nothing, moodily flinging stew into her friend's bowls. Despite the ex-prince having proven himself perfectly harmless, she still couldn't bring herself to trust him.

And why should she? After all he had done, a few weeks of good behaviour certainly didn't earn him forgiveness or a second chance. No, it would take an extraordinary event to completely eliminate her grudge against him.

"Mmmm, what smells so good?" Sokka asked, entering the dining area the same way Zuko had.

Katara smiled and handed him a bowl, the contents of which he immediately began devouring. The others soon entered behind him, and Katara gave each of them a bowl. Finally, she turned to Zuko who still sat silently across from her, and, with a glare, she shoved his bowl toward him. The last person she fed was herself.

The waterbender said nothing the entire meal, simply listening to the others discuss plans and share ideas. They had less than one week to get ready for the invasion, so every spare moment was used for planning. Sokka spent most of his time coming up with new schemes and making more poorly drawn diagrams. Aang went back and forth between worrying about failure and avoiding his training, contradicting behaviours that both baffled and annoyed Katara. Toph was Toph – calm and unaffected by the chaos, always having a snarky comment for whatever topic came up. Teo, Haru, and The Duke were all greatly concerned for their friends and relatives, who remained in prisons scattered across the Fire Nation. Hakoda offered whatever support he could, being everyone's father and leader and the voice of reason that helped quell the growing panic. Suki was Sokka's support, giving him advice and helping him stay calm, while also trying to aid Katara with her many responsibilities. Zuko just tried to help out, refusing the let Aang neglect his firebending, and offering whatever assistance he could to the group.

With so much worrying and arguing and general chaos, it was all Katara could do not to lose her mind. There was way too many people, way too much happening at once.

"Got any food for me?"

Instantly, Katara was on her feet, gathering water from the pouch on her hip in preparation for an attack. Standing a few feet away, looking completely unthreatened and unemotional, was Mai. Her clothing was tattered and dirty, and her hair was a mess around her shoulders, but Katara could still easily recognize the knife-thrower.

"Mai?" Zuko asked, slowly getting to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Azula tried to throw me and Ty Lee in prison, but, seeing as I'm the warden's niece, I got early release," she said in the usual bored tone. "So, since I had nowhere else to go, I figured I'd join up with you guys."

Katara redirected her glare at Zuko. "Is this some sort of trick? You were planning this all along, weren't you? Joining us, then brining all your little friends along with you. So you could take us down from the inside, just like in Ba Sing Se!"

"No, no," Zuko exclaimed, holding his hands up defensively, "I swear, I never had any intention of doing something like that!"

"Toph?"

Sighing, the blind-bender said, "Yup, he's telling the truth. Again."

"Why do you want to help us?" Aang asked, stepping forward authoritatively.

Mai shrugged. "It's more interesting than sitting in prison or going back home."

Katara arched an eyebrow. Was this girl really willing to make a life altering decision, just for the sake of being entertained? It seemed reckless and absurd.

The group exchanged glances. "Could you give us a minute?" Aang asked, forcing a smile.

When Mai nodded, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph, and Zuko all huddled together, talking in hushed voices.

"She was with Azula," the airbender whispered. "I don't think we can trust her."

"She hasn't lied about anything so far," Toph pointed out.

"Yeah, but she hasn't exactly said anything that proves she's harmless," Katara retorted.

Aang glanced over his shoulder at the other girl. "Hey, you won't hurt us or anything, right?"

"No."

Turning back to the group, he said, "Well, now she has."

Huffing, the waterbender frowned and crossed her arms. It still seemed like a bad idea in her opinion. Even if Toph didn't sense any deceit, the girl was still a friend of Azula's. Anyone who could think of that monster as a friend had to be pretty evil themselves. Plus, she was so unemotional Katara wouldn't be surprised if Toph couldn't sense her lies – she probably didn't have enough reaction.

"I dunno..." Sokka said. For a moment, Katara wanted to pull him into a big bear hug. Yes! Someone who shared her concern!

"How are we gonna fit her into the invasion plan? I mean, I have most of it all worked out! I can't make last minute additions!"

Okay, so not exactly the same worries she had, but at least he was still on her side.

Nodding, Katara added, "Plus, we can barely take care of the group as it is. There are just too many people."

The group murmured quietly, arguing and debating over what was the right action. Finally, they turned back to her.

"I'm sorry, but we just can't let you join us," Aang said, trying to look firm, though Katara knew he regretted the decision. Since Zuko had switched sides, he had become faithful in people's ability to be redeemed. He thought everyone deserved a second chance.

"Why not?" Mai asked. "Is there some sort of job description I don't fit?"

"Well, no, it's just-"

"We can't handle any more people," Katara cut in, saving Aang from his inevitably awkward babbling. To emphasize her point, she gestured to the large group around them.

Instead of arguing, the knife-thrower turned to Zuko, crossing her arms. "What, you're just gonna stand there?"

He blinked. "What?"

"I saved your butt from boiling in that lake and you can't even make the effort to convince the guys to let me join them?"

The ex-prince frowned. "I'm not gonna put more strain on this group just because you decided to start tagging along. Besides, it was _your_ decision to save me _and_ Sokka"- he gestured to the Water Tribe boy- "and it's not an automatic 'I owe you one'."

Katara glanced from one person to the other, intrigued by their argument. She had heard the whole story about the pair's adventure at the prison, but she hadn't expected it to bring up such conflict. Then again, she hadn't really expected to see Mai ever again, so that kind of made sense.

"Well, where the hell am I supposed to go, then?" Mai asked, eyes narrowing and the corners of her lips pulling down.

"Why not home?" Zuko suggested. When she opened her mouth to retort, he continued. "I don't care if you think it's boring or you don't like your parents. Either you go there or back to prison, 'cause you're not staying here."

The girl clenched her fists, seeming about to say something. Katara thought for a moment that she might attack, and tensed herself in preparation. Instead, however, Mai sent Zuko one last menacing look, then turned and stomped away.

The group was silent.

"... Well, that was interesting," Sokka said.

Everyone murmured a few comments, then went back to what they had been doing – discussing the war and their plans for the invasion. Realizing no one was going to follow the Fire Nation noble, Katara walked off in the direction she had taken.

Noticing the sound of approaching footsteps, Mai slowed, saying, "What, did you change your mind already?"

"No, I'm just keeping an eye on you."

"Why? What could I possibly gain from attacking you?"

"Well, you _were_ an ally of Azula's..."

"And she threw me in prison."

Growling, Katara said, "Whether or not you think yourself a threat doesn't matter. I'm looking out for my friends, and I don't want to take any chances."

Mai shrugged, returning to her previous pace. "Whatever."

The waterbender frowned, but followed in silence.

After a few moments, the knife-thrower spoke again. "So, are you my replacement or something?"

"What?"

Ignoring the girl's obvious confusion, she continued, "If so, I should probably warn you – Zuko may be a great kisser, but he's not so good in the loyalty department. I mean, come on. You saw what he did back there."

Katara stopped, hands on her hips. "You mean sticking by the group's decision and not letting you join simply because of some past relationship? That seems pretty loyal to me." Then, as an after-though, she added, "And we're _not_ dating."

Inside, the waterbender was amazed at what she had just said. She was _defending_ Zuko, a person she had claimed to hate with every fibre of her being. Cautiously, she glanced up to make sure there weren't any rocks falling toward her.

Good. No signs of an apocalypse, either.

Mai just shrugged, slowing in her walk as she reached the edge of the temple. Silently, Katara wondered how she would get across, or even just to the top of the cliff. After all, it wasn't like the girl could sprout wings and fly.

Without hesitation, Mai grabbed onto a mess of vines that lined one of the stone walls, and began climbing, showing a surprising amount of skill. Partway up, she paused, glancing back down.

"Tell Zuko that I'm not gonna wait for him to change his mind. It's over. For real."

Then she continued pulling herself up the vines, not even waiting for Katara's response.

XxXx

Later that night, while Katara rinsed the dishes, she heard barely audible footsteps approaching. With a glance over her shoulder, she saw it was Zuko, frowned, and turned her attention back to the task at hand.

"Why are you still mad at me?" he asked. It was the same question every day.

"Because I can't risk trusting you," she said. It was the same answer every day.

"Come on, Katara. You and I both know this is getting ridiculous. I've done nothing wrong the entire time I've been on your team."

"Doesn't mean you never will," she countered.

He groaned, and she could picture him rolling his eyes in annoyance and disbelief. The smallest grin pulled at her lips. Honestly, she was just pretending to hate him, now. Something about the events with Mai had broken the final thread attaching her to her grudge, though she couldn't place her finger on why. Maybe it was the fact that he was willing to give up someone he cared about for the sake of the group, or maybe it was the fact that Mai thought him untrustworthy – if the enemy didn't trust him, that meant he couldn't be on their side anymore, right? Whatever the reason, her resentment had dissolved, allowing trust to begin to form. It was a slow but inevitable process.

Looking over her shoulder the slightest bit, she saw his slumped shoulders and expression of both irritation and disappointment. He looked a child who had just been denied some promised treat.

Sighing, she said, "Alright. I'll give you a second chance on one condition."

Immediately, Zuko perked up. "I'll do anything."

"Okay. Do all my chores, plus your own, for the next week. No exceptions and no complaining."

"What? That ridiculous! I don't have time to-"

"If you don't have time to do chores, then I guess you don't have time for forgiveness."

With a final groan, he said, "Okay, fine."

The waterbender smiled sweetly. "I knew you'd come around. Now, finish these dishes, then do everyone's laundry. And tomorrow, you have to wake up early to make breakfast."

He mumbled something about crazy women, rolling up his sleeves and sticking his hands in the soapy water. Katara just smiled wider. Maybe having him around wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Author's Notes: _Zomg. Long fic is long. o.o _

_I wrote this for a contest in my guild. Didn't turn out quite how I imagined, but I'm content with it. :3 Tell me what you think!_

**Disclaimer: 'Avatar' and all its characters are property of Mike and Bryan. **


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